Her Happiness Above All Else
by city-bright
Summary: He put Mindy above anyone else. He wanted her to be happy above anything else, and he would do anything for her, even sacrificing his own happiness.


**A/N: I wrote this three or four months ago, and I didn't want it sitting around, so I decided to post it. It's un-beta'd, so all the mistakes are mine. If there are any huge mistakes, feel free to let me know!**

**I feel like this situation is very unlikely, but who knows? lol I imagine it would be set after The Desert if the kiss and everything after that didn't happen.**

**Inspired by Taeyang's Wedding Dress music video. I own nothing of these wonderful characters.**

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Danny stood in front of his mirror, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed, lips straight, eyes emotionless, staring at his own reflection. He mindlessly buttoned up his shirt and inserted his cuff links. He never thought he would be here...at least not like this. He had always imagined himself wearing a twenty piece suit for their wedding day instead of her and Henry's.

He took a deep breath, told himself he could make it through the day just fine, and walked out of the bathroom. He grabbed his coat and walked out, slamming the door behind him and dreading the day ahead.

He got to the church, which originally surprised him when she said she was getting married in a church. He never pinned her for a traditionalist in that sense. He always thought she…they would get married on the beach at sunset or at the top of the Empire State Building or some other idea of Mindy's most romantic place on Earth.

He made pleasantries with everyone just outside the church, including Jeremy, Betsy, Morgan and Tamra, who all commented how elegant everything looks and speculated what Mindy would look like in her wedding dress. He forced a smile before excusing himself. He entered the church, looking around to see if he could find her before the ceremony. He smiled to himself when he heard her laugh echoing the hallways. He could recognize that bubbly laugh anywhere. He followed the sound and knocked on the door before slowly peaking in.

Mindy took notice immediately, giving him a wide smile and a small wave. He has never seen her more beautiful, and it breaks his heart that he's not the one who will be waiting at the altar for her, seeing her walk down the aisle, and marrying her. He hates to admit it, and he hates to feel it, but he doesn't like how happy Henry makes her. She should be with him and not that prick of a guy she's marrying, but he smiles brightly at her anyway, not wanting to ruin or dampen her big day.

"Hey, Min. How are you doing? You nervous? Do you have wedding jitters because it's okay if you do, you know that right?"

She laughed at him. "I'm fine, but are _you_ okay, Danny? You're sweating a lot over there."

"Oh really? Hm, I hadn't noticed," he replied as he wiped his forehead.

"Yeah, okay," she chuckled.

"So, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I'm ready as I ever will be! I can't wait, Danny. I'm happy, I'm ready to do this, I've never been more sure of anything."

He sadly smiled at her. "Well, I'm happy you're happy." He leaned forward and softly whispered in her ear "you look absolutely wonderful" like it was a secret.

She opened her mouth to say thank you, but Gwen interrupted, saying that there's 10 minutes left before the ceremony begins and that Mindy should start getting ready. Mindy mouthed "sorry" to Danny, and he took that as his cue to leave and settle into his seat.

He took a seat in the first pew on the bride's side, which irked him so much. Mindy asked him to be one of the best men, but Henry already had his brother, Rishi, and friends from college lined up to be best men. There wasn't a place for him there because Henry's five best men matched perfectly with Mindy's five bridesmaids. He guessed sitting next her parents is the third best thing in this wedding party, second being one of the best men, and the first being her husband to be.

Before he knew it, the piano started playing, and the bridesmaids started to float down the aisle. He heard the collective shuffle of everyone in the church, indicating that Mindy was about to walk down the aisle, prompting him to stand up and face the back of the church. He sighed deeply, aching to be the one Mindy was spending the rest of her life with.

When the double doors opened with a loud clamor, he was greeted with the sight of Mindy, looking absolutely radiant and gorgeous in her white, strapless, lace bodice mermaid silhouette of a wedding dress. Normally, he wouldn't know what almost any of those terms meant, but she dragged him to go wedding dress shopping with her because she needed "a man's opinion." He begged her not to make him go because he most definitely didn't want to see her try on wedding dresses for another man, but Mindy being Mindy and Danny being Danny, he eventually agreed to go.

He hated shopping, but he hated wedding dress shopping even more, knowing that none of the dresses she tried on would be for their wedding. He was determined to give half-hearted comments about each dress, but he couldn't bring himself to do it when she walked out in each dress, hugging her soft, perfect curves.

When they had finally found the one, Mindy cried, barely able to say, "This is the dress." He'd never admit it, but he teared up a little bit too. She looked absolutely beautiful in every single dress, but this one...there was something about this one that made her glow like no other item of clothing has done before. He cleared his throat, thick with emotion, before giving her his approval, saying how perfect she looks in that dress, like it was made for her.

Now here he was, standing before her, not as her husband to be, but only as her supportive best friend. She gracefully walked down the aisle with her father by her side. She grinned from ear to ear, and he just _knew_ that she was happy, and it killed him knowing he couldn't do that for her. She looked at him, grin still stuck on her face, and gave him the slightest of nods, telling him that she's happy and that she knows she's doing the right thing. He smiled and returned the nod, telling her that he's happy for her and that he trusts her.

She looked ahead at Henry, with twinkling eyes. He didn't think it was possible, but her smile grew as she laid eyes on Henry.

He couldn't concentrate much on Mindy walking down the aisle after that. All he could think about was how undeserving Henry was of Mindy. He thought Henry did and said some unforgivable things. He called Mindy selfish and some other things Danny didn't care to think about. They hadn't officially broken up after that particularly nasty fight, but Henry went out, got drunk and kissed some woman at a bar. After some time, Mindy was able to forgive him, saying that he was drunk and that he didn't mean it.

He tried to convince Mindy that Henry was no good and that she deserved someone so much better, someone who treated her with respect, love, and care. But they were fallen on deaf ears when she pleaded with him, telling him that Henry was genuinely a good guy and that he just made a mistake. He wanted to yell and scream that she should be with him instead, that no one would love and appreciate her like he would, but he just remained silent. He doesn't completely understand why he didn't just come out and say it. Part of him was scared, part of him didn't want to make her upset, and part of him wanted her to be happy even if it is with someone else who was undeserving of her.

When she finally made it to the altar and the pastor began to speak, he sat down, sighing deeply, realizing that it's finally happening. He couldn't concentrate on the ceremony either because moments of their friendship flashed before his eyes. All the times they spent on the subway commute to work together, in the doctor's lounge as they waited for their patients to deliver, in his apartment watching movies and eating dinner together, in the rental car as they drove out to the desert, in the airplane from Santa Fe when he held onto her hand, at her apartment, helping her build a bunk bed, and so many more.

He had a vague feeling that he was losing her like he was falling down a hole, trying to yell for her and latch onto something, but failing.

The music started again, bringing Danny back to the present. He saw how radiant Mindy looked, finally a married woman, and his heart shattered to see who may be the love of his life finally slip away from him.

The newly married coupled walked back down the aisle with smiles on their faces that could be seen from a mile away. Danny, along with the rest of the guests, followed the couple outside the church. Everyone started throwing rose petals and rice at the happy couple, but he just stood to the side, aching to stand by Mindy's side.

As he looked on, he remembered that one day when he tried to tell her how he felt about her. He had walked into her office at the end of the work day, ready to spill his heart, but she was in a rush, getting ready for her first date with Henry. He'd figured he would tell her the next day or the day after that, but she and Henry had hit things off really well. He'd tried so many times to tell her to dump Henry and date him instead, but they were apparently doing really well, and he didn't want to be the person to break up a relationship like that. He wanted her to choose him for him. At first, he had given up and decided to let her be, but one day, he just couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't live with himself if he didn't at least try.

One Friday night, when the office went out to a club to celebrate the influx of new patients, he took the first chance he could get to grab her hand and pull Mindy outside, not saying a word until they were outside.

"Danny, I was in the middle of telling Morgan a story! What is it that couldn't make you wait like three minutes?!"

"Mindy, I can't live another day without you knowing. I don't want to miss my chance."

"What? What are you talking about? What do I need to know?"

"Min, I love-"

"Mindy! Mindy!" Henry half-shouted, half-panted from down the block.

She turned around to find the source of the sound. "Henry? What are you doing here? I thought you were at work."

He took a couple of deep breaths before continuing. "I-I was, but then I couldn't-I couldn't wait another day without knowing, but Mindy Lahiri, will you marry me?"

"What?! Are you kidding me?! Of course, I'll marry you!" She leapt into Henry's arms and squealed as he spun her around.

Danny had fidgeted and looked down, feeling like an intruder in this private moment. Without saying a word, he'd walked down the street, fully believing that he had lost his chance. He had tried, and he'd guessed that it just wasn't meant to be.

Mindy yelling out Danny's name, telling him to come by her side to take pictures, snapped him out of his reverie. He plastered a smile on his face, walked over to her and placed a kiss on her cheek. He whispered into her ear saying she looked beautiful. She smiled at him in thanks and tightly wrapped her right arm around his waist and squeezed tightly. They both looked ahead at the camera, ready to take pictures. He put his right hand in his pant pocket and felt the cool metal of a ring…the ring he had once hoped to grace Mindy's finger.


End file.
